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Use It or Lose It in Newtown Square
No action was taken at last night's Newtown Township Supervisors meeting concerning the BPG's By-Right development plan for the Ellis Preserve.
I give the supervisors about a week before the big-box plan becomes a fait accompli. They need to meet with BPG's lawyer to set a time-frame for approval of the much more popular Town Center plan or they're going to lose it.
Check out today's print column.
I give the supervisors about a week before the big-box plan becomes a fait accompli. They need to meet with BPG's lawyer to set a time-frame for approval of the much more popular Town Center plan or they're going to lose it.
Check out today's print column.
posted by Spencerblog at
8:33 AM
30 Comments:
LET'S LOOSE IT.
BPG BOUGHT A C-1 COMMERCIAL TRACT. BUILD IT TO CONFORMITIY.
BPG BOUGHT A SU-1 TRACT. BUILD IT TO CONFORMITY.
THEY KNOW WHAT THEY BOUGHT WHEN THEY BOUGHT IT, BUT THEY ARE COUNTING ON PEOPLE LIKE A "NO BRAINER" BATTISTA, AND A "DON'T GET IT" DIPOMPEO.
THAT IS THE EXTENT OF THE POSITIVE ARGUMENT PEOPLE HAVE FOR THE TOWN CENTER.
BPG WANT'S TO RAM A TOWN CENTER DOWN RESIDENT'S THROATS BECAUSE THEY OVERPAID FOR A PIECE OF LAND WITH IT'S PRESENT ZONING REQUIREMENTS. SAP IS LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK ON BPG'S GAMBLE.
NOW BPG WANT'S THE RESIDENT'S TO PAY FOR A "MODEL TOWN CENTER" A PICTURE OF DISNEYWORLD. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR SOMEONE'S DREAM ON THE BACK OF HARD WORKING TAX PAYER'S AND VOTERS.
This sounds a lot like what Newtown Pizza's Dimitrios Stefanidis told me over the weekend.
I still don't get how the town center is being rammed down anyone's throat. If anything gets rammed anywhere it will be the by-right plan.
While all real estate development is a "gamble" BPG's doesn't sound like that big of one. They are not under capitalized which is what causes most projects to fail.
And in what way is BPG asking the residents to pay for their town center? Their investors are the one who are willing to shell out the $500 million the project will cost, including the millions in traffic abatement.
In the meantime, the residents will get some sort of development at the site, the only question is what kind: a town center or an old fashioned shopping center, plus offices and 200 plus housing units.
Talk about a no-brainer.
Those are fighting words from someone hiding behind the name "anonymous". Why don't you man up and write your name?
You'd have to be either uneducated or have ulterior motives if you want to see that property built to conformity with the current zoning. I'm guessing you have ulterior motives.
If you don't have ulterior motives, please take the time to write why you don't want to see the Town Center built. I am truly interested in your point of view. Let's have an educated discussion here. By the way, you can turn off CAPS LOCK.
Jason from Newtown Square
interesting how an editor is so for something in town where he doesn't even live.
it sounds like spencer is in someone's pocket for not living in newtown square and having such a strong opinion.
even spaeder said in front of 6 people yesterday, "keep the pressure on the daily times" or did he mean keep the check rolling in to spencer???????
Wake up people! We're talking about big money and local politicians here. Linda claims she doesn't know Claude deBottom, yet her son is a Marine and deBottom just built a war memorial in Newtown Square. Didn't you see Linda on the cover of the local paper throwing Claudes dirt at the ground breaking ceremony? My point is these local politicians do what they want and they can be bought off. If you are a resident I'm telling you they do not have your best interest in mind, maybe their bank accounts, but not your best interests.
If that's what passes for principled opposition to the Town Center, God help it.
Well Jason,
Fighting words? You must be well educated. Send Mr. Spencer your full name and address and i'll be happy to sit down with you face to face and have an educated conversation. What university did you attend?
LOL! This blog is a joke!!! See you all in January!!
It is obvious to me that BPG has bent over backwards for Newtown and the damands(money)they have asked for. My question is what has the township asked from Claude in relation to money for road inprovments? From what I understand he hasn't paid a dime, nor has he been asked to.
Oh, I forgot he did give a small piece of corner property(unbuildable per twp. ord)for the people to see as they speed by at 55 MPH.
Hey Gil,
While your at Newtown, why don't you start looking at the Taj on the second floor of the twp. building to see more corrupt politics.
Talk about taking care of yourself and your friends......
Free medical benefits(twp supv), free car, free gas, free car ins. free office space, free computers,free phone and fax line to run your outside business from your free office, hourly salary at will.
WOW, where can one apply for such a thing???
Oh, then appoint your good old buddy to act as an EMS consultant to decide what's best for the residents of Newtown.
Never mind the FACT he has no EMS exp. (other than to drive the thing for a few years) Not even a college education to justify his consultant position.
BEFORE - 2 ambulances and a paramedic unit
AFTER - 1 ambulance.
You get what you pay for I guess.
Something is seriously wrong when one small town council member (with possibly questionable motives) can hold up a project like this just because she wants to extort more money from the developer. Some people can’t handle even the smallest bit of power.
Houldin claims she doesn't "know" deBotton, what a farce. I remember reading an article in the paper a few months ago about Houldin and deBotton. It detailed how deBotton purchased several local businesses from the Videon family. After making the purchases deBotton met with all of the lease holders in his newly aquired stores. Who acted as the "MC" at that meeting...Houldin! But she doesn't know deBotton!
Linda Houldin does not take a pee without asking Newtown GOP leader Michael Gillin for permission.
There's more to this story than Houldin, fellas!
That's not the only thing Houldin has been "Houldin" up!
For months and months, Houldin blocked the school district from getting access to its education cable channel. You know, the kind of cable channel we parents like to watch to find out about such silly things as school closings, emergencies, school board meetings, our kids' activities, etc.
Houldin is bad for Newtown Square, and bad for Marple Newtown School District, too!
Here's the real scoop.
No major development goes on in Delco without one or more of the Delco GOP leaders (McNichol, Judge, etc.) having some kind of interest in it.
If Houldin is holding up BPG, that means Gillin is.
And that means that once again, Gillin is acting in a rogue fashion, doing whatever benefits him and him alone.
It's remarkable when a local politician tells the taxpayers to go to hell. It's even more remarkable when a local GOP politician tells the likes of McNichol to go to hell!
You know you just can't keep a good woman down!! She's all about the residents and the people she serves and lives with! Politics is 2nd or 3rd on her agenda! She grew up and lives in Newtown and she wants it to be a place her grandchildren would want to raise their kid and she wants the senior citizens to be able to afford to remain in their homes. I followed her through the years and she's an independant thinker not a YES person! She for the little guy!! Cudos!!
Well if you followed Houldin through the years then you know she never graduated high school. She was in my class and never graduated. She's only in local politics because nobody else cares to be! She ran against Mr. Eder, not exactly a formitable opponent!
Kudos to Linda!! You Go Girl!!!
As a resident of Newtown Square, I am so proud that we elected someone of such high integrity to our Board of Supervisors. She definitely doesn’t let politics or cronyism cloud her judgment.
She is truly a “representative of the people”. In addition to looking out for the best interests of us Newtown residents, she has taken under her wing a nice older gentleman from Narberth who has a penchant for threatening residents with trailer parks when he doesn't get his way. Talk about a real team player!
We should also applaud Linda's determination. She hasn't wavered one bit as she continues to take a stand against the Town Center even though nearly all of the us residents, the very people who elected her to represent us, are in favor if the Town Center. Talk about flying in the face of adversity.
Maybe Linda has been holding everything up because she is so busy working on other projects right now.
In addition to her strenuous "no-show" job at Rose Tree Park in Media, it appears that Ms. Houldin is busy trying to get her new casino supply website royalgamingproducts.net up and running.
I have no idea what she was thinking getting into that business. She would have to have some solid political connections to succeed with that business. And we all know Linda isn't political. :)
The last thing we want in Newtown Square is a big-box store(s). My husband an I don't want our property values lowered by having such a monstrocity in our area.
We are all for a town center with smaller stores and good name-brand retailers. We think Newtown Square needs such a "destination" shopping, eating and gathering town center, NOT a big-box!!
Linda is looking out for the people of Newtown Square??? Yeah right, The supervisors pushed this BPG thing back until AFTER the election. These supervisors have made one bad decision after another. Hiring an outside Police Chief, taking the ambulance from the fire company, putting a fire marshall in charge of the new ambulance corp, I have to ask when will the supervisors start speaking for the people???? they sure are not speaking for the majority now. Residents showed up by the hundreds for the township meeting when BPG proposed the Town center. 10-1 they were in favor of it. i have to ask Linda, what residents are you looking out for?? The problems politicians run into is when they stop listening to the majority and they begin to think they know whats best for us. If the GOP here in Newtown was smart, they would tell Linda to keep her mouth shut. She has been caught in several lies and her lack of education really shows when she is put on the hot seat. No one will have to look to far to see that Newtown has not kept up with the times. They have an Ambulance Corp that they can NOT get one volunteer for. They have an understaffed roadcrew, Police Dept. We do however have three Fire Marshalls. All have take home vehicles, with cameras, and computers. I have to ask, how many Fire Marshalls does Upper Darby have??
I noticed the lone democrat for Supervisor got over 1000 votes. I beleive this is s sign for things to come in Newtown. I Beleive the Newtown Pizza guy is onto something the Democrats are coming We are tired of the Supervisors not listening to the people. The supervisors have the town's attention now, what stupid moves will they make next??? Just keep interviewing Linda and you will see this town is doomed with such a scholar(LOL) at the helm
People have gotten carried away anymore with asserting their demands and “rights” when it comes to development. The usual employed catchall buzz words, “property values, traffic, open space” have become nothing more than excuses used to justify people’s preconceived disdain and used to hold up projects and extort from developers. Everyone is an activist anymore. It is nothing short of criminal what they put developers through nowadays.
Out in Middletown they wanted to do a similar town center –which that place desperately needs, btw- and a small but very vocal minority of angry obstructionists have come out in force against it. They set up a website, distributed lawn signs, stormed meetings, elevated the level of shrill by calling the proposed town center a “CITY!”... People that live nowhere near the site have gotten in on the angry act.
They’re the same sort who do the reverse too: they move out to the country and then complain about the noise from shooting ranges, dust from plowed fields, and the smell from hog farms that have all been there for years.
People need to get a grip on their emotions, STFU and MYOB. Maybe find themselves a hobby. Every building and house at one time encroached on others, impacted property values, trampled open space and caused increased traffic. Every single one.
Let the market decide when enough progress is enough. If you want to live in the country move further out Baltimore Pike… where you’ll find that even Oxford and other once little towns have experienced growth as well.
Get over it. But more importantly, get over yourselves.
Hey Gil, why don't you look into the latest Newtown smear.
Apparently, Mike Gillen is the new HR person in Newtown. A recent add placed in a local church(St. Annies)paper this past week announced two job openings in the Twp.(road crew and secretary).
The add listed Gillin as the contact person to call for the job.
Just when you think it can't get any worse.... We all may have known Gillin was the man to see for the jobs in Newtown, but now it's actually on public record..
No kidding check it out!
An amazing feat, is it possible that Newtown Township is finally getting seen as they are-a buddy club. Constantly throwing up the residents "best interest" pad there own futures. Gil, you could have columns for months if you continue to dig into the necessary items the "emergency management" boss has outfitted himself and his pals with---any other company would call them "benefits". We should double the number of supervisors to match the number of faces shown to their residents.
I must say that it has been a pleasure seeing someone from outside finally notice our supervisors odd ways of handling business. As I am sure you have seen in your blogs, there was an amazing transformation of emergency medical services in the township over the last year. Again the power of two faced politics, back room meetings and nothing but benefits for township personnel. Another move by the township to "protect" their people.
Gil,
As you can see their is alot of interest in your investigation into Newtown.
You may also notice the many responses on the emegency management/fire marshalls control of the twp.
Take a look at their budget, office and perks compared to everyone else in the twp and surrounding twp's. It will glaringly standout who's who around there!
You really need to start asking questions about this. You WILL be suprised at the B.S. going on with these two control freaks!
Friends of the 41 house..
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